Bus and coach industry under threat!

Government will provide for a transport system that will:

• Facilitate the movement of goods and people.
• Enable equitable access to personal economic opportunities and social services.
• Support economic and environmental sustainability and inclusive growth.
• Advance the national, regional, and global competitiveness of the country.

To achieve this, there must be an adequate supply of transport infrastructure and services in relation to demand. Furthermore, for the users of transport, the supply should be:

• Accessible
• Cost-effective

The bus and coach industry has played a vital role for decades, contributing to the social and economic growth and development in South Africa through the provision of shared passenger transport services and mobility access to millions of citizens.

It is estimated that the composite fleet is in excess of 21 000 buses, with an asset value worth billions of rands, transporting millions of passengers, and directly employing well over 40 000 people, while a long and deep value chain that depends on the industry creates indirect employment for thousands more.

The industry has for many years made a vital contribution to the economic and social development of the country by providing services within sub-sectors that cover commuter services (subsidised by government contracts), inter-city and long distance, scholar learner, cross-border, tour charter, and commercially contracted services.

Using hundreds of millions of litres of diesel monthly, the industry moves millions of South Africans in the various sectors, in a regulated environment, catering for mass mobility needs on a daily basis.

Now imagine the country without this important industry!

The bus and coach industry has been subjected to an ongoing, systematic, and coordinated attack. Despite pleas for urgent collaboration and action to mitigate and address the issues, however, government remains silent.

The issues are widespread across all sub-sectors and range from intimidation to interference and disruption, as well as downright illegal stop and check inspections and extortion by unscrupulous individuals and groups. A growing number of incidents can be ascribed to pure criminality, where commuters and operators are subjected to buses being held up and robbed.

This is all playing out in the context of an industry still recovering from different levels of impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic. The projected cost of compliance for Covid-19 protocols will set the industry back by around R102 million per month across all sectors.

Amongst others, the main routes and sectors affected are:

• Johannesburg to Limpopo and return (inter-city and long-distance sector)
• Park Station to and in Musina (cross-border operations)
• Free State to Lesotho (cross-border operations)
• Western Cape (commuter, scholar, inter-city, and cross-border)
• Mpumalanga (inter-city, scholar, and cross-border)
• KwaZulu-Natal (commuter and inter-city services)
• North West and Limpopo (commercial contracts around mining)
• Across the country (all forms of special/private hire operations for tours, funerals, and events)
• Academic and university transport at and between technology institutions

These are often referred to as “hot spot routes and sections” but the attacks and disruptions are actually constantly flaring up across the country, with many incidents not even reaching mainstream discussions.

Some of these operators are on the brink of financial distress and may close operations, which seems to be the desired outcome for the perpetrators.

One of the biggest challenges facing operators is the frustration of having to deal with red tape in reporting and accounting for the incidences and losses. This inevitably casts a cloud over the competence of government departments at all levels.

Estimated losses from actual reported cases for the period 2020 to date reflect the following:

• Bus fleets in excess of 50
• Asset value (depots and fleet) in excess of R100 million
• Deaths: unconfirmed, but in excess of 15
• Injuries: unconfirmed, but in excess of 25 (does not include passengers)

At the end of all of this, there remains the issue of the insurance cover and claims, which start getting seriously impacted due to delayed or inconclusive investigations.

The industry, via SABOA, had engaged in discussions at the National Economic Development and LabourCouncil (NEDLAC), as well as at the National Department of Transport, for a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach toward a Violence Avoidance Strategy. Unfortunately, there has not been much support or commitment in this regard.

This was also highlighted at the SABOA Industry Conference in June 2022, held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre (Nasrec). The conference was addressed by Fikile Mbalula, the Minister of Transport, and in line with his request to engage on core resolutions from the conference, SABOA intends to send a formal request for him to appoint representatives from the Transport Department to the task team that is being mooted.

The South African Police Service has committed to collaborating and we wait on the departments of Transport and Security clusters to align themselves and give urgency to the issues.

Key urgent actions that are required to cement the Violence Avoidance Strategy are:

1. A centralised reporting line for data collation moving forward.
2. Creation of the task team to include industry representation.
3. Assigning the task team a wide mandate to cover topics such as:

• Finding a mechanism to remove the red tape involved in reporting and investigation, as well as updating reported cases.
• Public order policing for protest actions.
• Crime prevention.
• Depot and facility policing.
• Intimidation and extortion.
• Immediate data collation from all reported cases.

4. Monitoring and measurement of enforcement and regulation.
5. Expert assistance for the industry to fast-track insurance claims and the added risks via Insurers and SASRIA.

Given the failure of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and the rail network, the bus industry remains the only viable, regulated, and compliant road-based mass transit option for commuters. The industry must be protected.

Sadly, no-one has yet been brought to book or held accountable for the systematic and coordinated attack on the bus industry, even after losses exceeding hundreds of millions of rands together with loss of life and injuries. This cannot be allowed to continue without recourse against these so-called “unidentifiable forces”.

As with the many issues that we are grappling with, the non-aligned approach adopted by the various government departments and tiers is not assisting at all. Whilst there is no ‘silver bullet’ solution, a collaborative effort will surely reduce the instances of bus owners and operators receiving bullets as a form of direct threat or warning.

The industry calls on the Minister of Transport to urgently prioritise this issue and engage with us and other stakeholders.